Never Forget
by ninjagirl11
Summary: Hershel is in a deep depression after the events in "The Unwound Future". He has lost too much. Now Emmy is back, and he has a chance to regain part of the life he had before. Layton/Emmy pairing. Slightly violent. It gets better. Don't be too hard on me!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! Thanks for reading, it means a lot to me! Sorry I was gone for so long, I wrote a book. Happy reading!**

Hershel looked at the falling snow through his window. It was a calming sight, which he needed, being full of depression. Half of him wanted to see blood, while the other half wanted back the piece of his mind he'd lost. Flora came in.

"Hi Professor." she said. "You look good. Is that your style now?"

"It is, I suppose." Hershel replied. He wore a black sweater, without the hat. "Is there something you want to say?" Flora nodded.

"You seem lonely." she said with a concerned expression.

"I am fine, Flora. I'm merely recovering from our latest exploit." Flora knew he was lying. But she couldn't say that to him, it would only put him through more pain.

The professor walked out of the room.

"I have to go to work now." he said.

"You should probably use the back door." Flora suggested.

"Don't tell me. Is there a mob of people with cameras out there?"

"Yes Professor."

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><p>Hershel went into his office and slammed the door shut. He had too many people following him. He must have said four hundred times that he wouldn't answer any questions. He closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened his eyes, he saw Dean Delmona.<p>

"Hello Hershel." The old man said kindly.

"Afternoon, Dean. But I already solved your puzzle today."

"Oh but I'm not here to ask about a puzzle." Hershel raised an eyebrow.

"Then what are you doing in my office?"

"I was wondering about this." He held up a small pocket knife. "This was in your jacket yesterday. Why?" Hershel took the knife from him.

"I was cutting something. I left this in my pocket and forgot to take it out. Sorry to bother you." Delmona didn't look comepletely convinced.

"Hmmm. Alright..." Hershel waited until he left, then leaned over his desk, and cut his hand. He had lost more than most people could stand for. Somehow the loss of blood provided an escapism. The pain...his biological parents, his brother, Luke, Claire...All of them had disapeared from his life. Hershel cut himself again. He remembered one more thing. Emmy... Why hadn't he done something? He should have asked her to stay, in a way that she would understand. She wasn't Claire. No one was like Claire. But he had had...similar feelings toward her. Hershel put a bandage on his hand. He could hardly call himself a living man now. He felt dead.

**Thanks for reading! So, basically our favorite archeologist has paparazzi following him, and that isn't helping his recent depression. Please review! If you must critique me, do it in a helpful way. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter 2. Sorry this is late, had a lot of homework to do. Honestly this is my first time writing Professor Layton Fanfiction, PLEASE DON'T BE TOO HARSH. Thank you.**

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><p>Flora knew she couldn't talk to the poor professor when he was in grief, but she also knew she had to.<p>

"Professor, are you OK?" Hershel turned around. He shoved his bleeding hand into his pocket.

"Flora, in the future could you knock before entering my office?"

"Sure Professor, but I wanted to talk to you." Hershel forced his mouth into a smile.

"What about?"

"Well, I just want you to be okay."

"I will be, in time." Flora scowled.

"I don't want you to be happy later! I want you happy NOW!" Hershel gasped at Flora's sudden change of tone.

"Sorry Professor, I just don't like seeing you so...miserable. Is there anything I can do for you?" Hershel touched his neck.

"I don't normally ask anything of people."

"Maybe you should, just once. I don't mind." Hershel thought for a moment. _What will get rid of her for the longest time..._

"Go get a jar and fill it with jam, then buy a box of nails, then get a chocolate bar and break a square off of it, and wipe the ice off my car, then go to Scotland Yard and-"

"Professor?"

"Yes?"

"I don't think I can remember all this." Hershel took a notepad and a pen from his desk. He handed them to Flora.

"Go to Scotland Yard and tell Inspector Chelmy that I agree with him that Barton stole his cake, then you have to..." Flora anxiously wrote down everything the professor was saying, losing concious control of herself.

"And when everything is done, get a book titled 'How To Deal With Stress', by Stephen Harold Benson. That last part is important. It HAS to be by Stephen Harold Benson. And drop that by my classroom at the end of the day. Understand?" Flora dropped the pen.

"Professor...this is a lot."

"I'm sure you can handle it. Thank you Flora." Flora walked away. Hershel sighed. That ought to keep her busy for a while. Hershel silently calculated how long that would take. _ seven minutes to fill the jar...twenty minutes to wipe the ice off my car...ten minutes to get the inspector to talk to her...about two hours to find out that Stephen Harold Benson isn't a real person...and I told her to drop off that book at the end of the day... _Hershel felt guilty for asking so much of the girl, but she wanted to do something for him. He took his hand out of his pocket. It had stopped bleeding.

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><p>Flora secretly knew that "Stephen Harold Benson" wasn't real, but she did think that the professor was stressed. So she got a book titled "How to Deal with Stress" which, DID NOT have "Stephen Harold Benson" written on the cover. At the end of the day, she came to Hershel's classroom.<p>

"I'm done." she said proudly. Hershel looked at her.

"Already?"

"It was easy. They didn't have anything by Stephen Harold Benson, but I'm sure this will work fine." Flora handed the book to Hershel.

"Flora, I have a confession to make."

"I know that 'Stephen Harold Benson' isn't real."

"Not that...I was trying to get rid of you."

"What? Why?" _Because, I've been cutting myself. That is how bad I feel. And I didn't want you to see me cry. _

"I think I need to be alone."

"Why? I don't want to be alone when I feel sad. Sorry, professor...I don't understand."

"Let's go home...I think it's about that time."

"But you really should read that book. I think you need it."

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><p><strong>I did it... There is more to come. I could use a review. Please keep reading.<strong>


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